PHX Exercises Major Runway Incident

Every three years, the FAA requires airports like Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to conduct a full-scale emergency exercise. The night-time exercise conducted on Oct. 25 simulated a response for a mock aircraft emergency.

Southwest was the exercise host airline, and the realism of the drill was brought to life by numerous participant agencies, airport partners, and more than 150 volunteers. The drill touched every aspect of a response to an incident of this magnitude.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has an outstanding record when it comes to aviation safety. Exercises like this are vitally important to test the Airport Emergency Plan and multi-agency response protocols. The exercise planning team and hundreds of participants worked jointly to address the needs of a response while also considering the airport’s continuity of operations, ultimately benefiting the hundreds of thousands of passengers and employees who use our airport every day.